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Winter Solstice Trials
In a world governed by the constellations and a person's most significant feature is their Zodiac, Suzanna Arcrow is a Libra chosen to work together with 11 other people to complete 21 tasks to become the next members of the Celestial Council in an event known as the Winter Solstice Trials which is held every 20 years. Seeing as the 12 have never met each other before, they'll have to try and get along if they want to reach their goal. However, the trials only last until the Spring Equinox, and with the erratic difficulties of the tasks, they are in for a race against time. ... also known as my attempt at a decent novel with original ideas. Excerpt In the land of Orbinorum, almost everything is named after constellations. Your Zodiac sign is the most important thing in your life. You can control either the earth, fire, air, or water depending on your Zodiac sign. Most of your personality traits are based on your Zodiac. Even your destiny is based on your Zodiac. In a way, this world is organized. No one feels that they have no place in the world, because it’s already certain that they do have one. No one is confused to where their life may go, because they already know that there is a path for them. Their politics is no problem, for they are led by a Royal Family who is guided by 12 people, called the Celestial Council, who went through the hardest of tasks to prove that yes, they are competent enough to lead the people. How are they chosen, you ask? By an annual event called the Winter Solstice Trials. Now, it is time for the Winter Solstice Trials. Orbinorum is abuzz with gossip about who the next candidates would be. Celestial Sphere Academy, a magnificent school surrounded by lush green forests occupied by several different animals, stood proudly in the glow of the Sun as its blue and gold uniformed students gathered in its auditorium. It was almost time for the candidates to be announced. Some lower years were murmuring to each other, sounding quite somber since the candidates were only chosen from the senior years while the said years were anxious and excited. Once the entire student body was inside, the principal, Capricorn Maya Westenberg, stepped up the podium, in her hands a pale blue paper. The chatter quieted down once the principal tapped the microphone as a signal. “A pleasant morning to you, students of CSA.” “Today is the day the potential next members of the Celestial Council is chosen. Twelve seniors will be picked and taken to the Royal Palace on the day of the Solstice to participate in the Winter Solstice trials.” The auditorium paused in anticipation, a Virgo nudging a gossiping Gemini in the midst. “This paper in my hand holds the names of the candidates, who were selected based on your performance.” She held up the pale blue paper, 12 lines of black decorating its surface. A shine of gold at the bottom right corner of the paper immediately identified by the students as the Royal Seal. They were only able to study the paper for about 20 seconds before it was torn away from their curious eyes. “I will now read from this list, starting with Aries.” The Aries senior students visibly held their breaths as the next few words came out of Principal Westenberg’s mouth. “Jesse Blackbourne.” A boy with a head of messy brown hair and hazel eyes jumped up from his seat, fistpumping the air “Yeah!” Principal Westenberg shot him a warning look which he immediately heeded. “For Taurus, Antonella Smith.” From the Taurus section of the auditorium, a girl with wavy red hair and blue eyes was patted in the back by her fellow Taurus students. “Gemini, Gwyneira Stanton.” The Gemini section immediately broke into a silent chatter, facing a girl with short brown hair and green eyes, who was chatting animatedly with her seatmates. “Gemini, please quiet down and save your conversation for when the annunciation is over. Cancer, Derek Evans.” The reaction of the Cancers was fairly the same as the Geminis, except theirs was louder and more animated. The center of the talk was a boy with short black hair and bright blue eyes who was facing a girl beside him. “Leo, Malachai Cavalier.” At the Leo section, a boy with strawberry blonde hair and amber eyes had a ridiculously wide grin, being congratulated by his fellow Leos. “Virgo, Veronica Williams.” The Virgo section collectively broke out into a grin, turning towards a girl with medium length platinum blonde hair and pale blue eyes, who blinked and smiled. “Libra, Suzanna Arcrow.” The Libras collectively applauded a girl with slightly wavy blonde hair and hazel eyes. Principal Westenberg smiled and continued her announcement. “Scorpio, Lissandra Blackadar.” At the Scorpio section, a girl with red hair in a bob and brown eyes jumped a bit on her seat when her name was announced, making the cat on her lap yelp in surprise. “Liss, why did you bring your cat in the auditorium?! Not that anything’s wrong with that but still!” A girl beside Lissandra exclaimed, who immediately shut her mouth when her eyes met Professor Westenberg’s. “Now, as I was saying, Sagittarius, Lucian Kressley.” “Well that was unexpected.” A boy with blonde hair and greyish-blue eyes said, before clamping his mouth shut. This earned him a few chuckles from the Sagittarius section before quieting down. “Capricorn, Caterina Patrick.” The Capricorn section applauded a girl with long black hair and dark brown eyes, who simply nodded at her Capricorn principal. “Aquarius, Timothy Bennett.” The Aquarius section broke into a rather loud chatter, started by a boy with slightly spiky brown hair and amber eyes, before being silenced. “Pisces, Reina Knightley.” The Pisces section exploded into an applause for a girl with brownish-blonde hair and green eyes. Principal Westenberg stored the pale blue paper and turned to look at the student body with a smile. “Congratulations, Mr. Blackbourne, Ms. Smith, Ms. Stanton, Mr. Evans, Mr. Cavalier, Ms. Williams, Ms. Arcrow, Ms. Blackader, Mr. Kressley, Ms. Patrick, Mr. Bennett, and Ms. Knightley.” This time, the entire auditorium exploded into an applause, the mentioned students standing up after being given a sign by Principal Westenberg. “The mentioned students, please come to my office after packing your bags. Once you have packed your bags, you will be given an opportunity to say your farewells to your friends and family. Have a great day, students of Celestial Sphere Academy and congratulations to the Zodiac Candidates.” ---- Jesse Blackbourne P.O.V I pumped my fist in the air once again after we exited the Auditorium, accidentally sending a few flames around. Luckily they didn’t hit anyone. I can’t believe it, I was chosen to be a Zodiac Candidate. “Wow! Wait ‘till my parents hear this.” I told my best friend, Engel, who was walking beside me. Engel had purely white hair and bright brown eyes. He’s a totally amazing kid, who is a Gemini. “Oh wow, I wonder how Marie would react, she’s been shooting for Zodiac Candidate since forever.” Engel said with a snicker. Marie is my older sister, who is extremely ambitious. I’m excited to see her reaction too, since I got to be a Zodiac Candidate and she didn’t. I outstretched my arms, which landed on Engel’s shoulders. “Dude, not in public.” He mumbled. I chuckled. “Whatever, Hawkins.” We walked together towards the path to the dorms, Stella Via, which would split in 12 different directions. “Here’s our stop. See ya later?” “Go on to your dorms, you prat. You still have a lot to pack.” Engel punched me slightly on the arm and I fake-winced. Oh yeah, we really won’t be seeing each other soon. “Aw, Engel. Didn’t know you would miss me that much.” I teased, nudging him with my elbow. He rolled his eyes, which made me chuckle. “Dream on, Blackbourne.” We teased each other some more before the big Horologium rang. We went to our different paths, Engel to the Gemini path and me to the Aries path. Right before we parted, Engel turned and said to me, “Good luck at the trials.” I grinned at him and nodded, turning and making my way towards my dorm. The Aries dorm buildings are two red six-floor buildings facing each other. Each of the buildings were decorated with golden rams, sporting the Aries glyph. Between them is a green garden filled with different red-colored flowers and a pale red fountain with gold accents was the centerpiece. The fountain had carvings of fire, the Aries element. Different Arians strolled in the garden, the fire users playing with fire. I grinned and passed by my dorm mates, who either high-fived, fist-bumped, or congratulated me. I walked towards the male dorm building, excited to pack up. I ran as fast as I can up the stairs, passing by more Arians. Reaching the third floor, I threw open my dorm room’s door and dashed in, surprising my roommate Charles. “Whoa, slow down there.” He told me, picking up his notebooks which he dropped. I stopped and turned towards him with a sheepish grin. “Sorry about that.” Charles shook his head, making his brown curls bounce, amusement evident in his green eyes. “I understand your excitement. Now go on! You don’t want to miss your farewells, eh?” I nodded and went to my room, quickly getting a large suitcase and packing my clothes. I picked up my toiletries and some of my books. What? Just because I’m an Aries doesn’t mean I don’t read books. After finishing packing up, I went to take a shower. Oh, this is gonna be great!! ---- Antonella Smith P.O.V I gleefully exited the auditorium, hooking my arm with the arms of my best friends, Milly and Freya. Milly’s blonde ponytail bounced as I pulled her along, making her dark blue eyes shine with mirth. Meanwhile, Freya quickly tied her red hair in a low ponytail before getting dragged along too, her pale green eyes showing a bit of annoyance and a lot of amusement. I felt the earth vibrate slightly in glee along with me as I chatted with them. Milly was a Capricorn, well, both of them are. We are best friends since childhood, never been separated before… Until now, that is. I abruptly stopped at the realization, blinking a few times. Freya and Milly turned to look at me with confused faces. “Ella, what’s wrong?” Freya asked, worry evident in her eyes. “Yeah, what’s got you down so suddenly?” Milly followed up. Out of nowhere, I started to cry. Oh no, my crybaby tendencies. “I j- just realized, this will be the fi- the first time we’ll be sep- separated.” I said between hiccups. Milly and Freya’s eyes softened and they led me towards our secret tree behind the auditorium, where they waited for me to calm down. Their presence helped calm me down, Freya rubbing comforting circles on my back and Milly whispering comforting words to me. Before I knew it, the tears stopped. “I- I’m sorry, my unique trait is a bit of a gloomy one.” I said, wiping the last of my tears away. Unique traits are personality traits that aren’t in the usual personality traits of our Zodiac signs. Unfortunately, my unique trait is emotional. “That’s okay, we understand.” Milly said, wrapping her arms around me. Freya did the same, saying “We will keep in touch, though. We promise we will email you every day, so don’t worry.” I nodded, standing up, feeling a lot better than ever before. “Thanks for being here for me guys.” I said with a smile, pulling them in for a hug. They reciprocated the hug and we just stood there for a few minutes, hugging it out. We were having a moment when that Horologium just had to ring. We laughed out loud, before I announced “Last one to the Stella Via is a vegetable!” We left behind dust as we ran towards the road, laughing all the way. Just like we always do. By the time we arrived at the intersections, we were taking in heavy breaths. “You better hurry up before Principal Westenberg calls you.” Freya told me, slapping me lightly on the shoulder. Milly nodded, pushing me lightly towards the way to the Taurus dorms. “Don’t worry, I will.” I said with a chuckle. We parted ways, but not before a last group hug. Freya and Milly went together to the Capricorn dorms while I made my way towards the Taurus dorms. How I wished I could travel through the earth. Unfortunately, only the most advanced Taureans can do that. Finally, I arrived at the dorms. The Taurus dorms are colored green with bronze accents. They are two six-floor buildings facing each other with a garden in the center. The buildings are decorated with bronze bulls with Taurus glyphs. The garden has a pale green fountain with bronze accents as a centerpiece, decorated with earth sign carvings. Most of my Earth-user Taurean dorm mates were practicing their earth abilities. I would’ve loved to join them but I needed to pack. I quickly went up to my dorm room, passing a few more of my dorm mates before arriving in front of my dorm room. I reckon Lanie, my roommate, isn’t here, because the door was locked. Digging into my pockets for the key, I unlocked the door and headed for my room. I quickly got a suitcase and packed all of my clothes in. Of course, I got my savings and packed it with me too. You wouldn’t know what kind of nice things the capitol has. ---- Gwyneira Stanton P.O.V As soon as I exited the auditorium, I immediately went into the air but flew back down before Principal Westenberg sees me. I walked alongside my friends, chatting animatedly. We were grinning at each other and I was so ecstatic. I mean, being selected as a Zodiac Candidate is one of the biggest honors! “Oh my gosh, Gwyn! This must be the best day of your life, I mean, a Zodiac Candidate! Can you believe it?” Alice gushed, her straight black hair bouncing as we walked along. Her brown eyes shined as she talked to me. “Even I can’t believe it, Alice.” I told her, spinning around as I produced some small breezes from my fingertips. Strong arms wrapped around my waist and I sent a small ball of air at them. My brother Dominic smirked at me, his green eyes shining with mischief. “Well well, little Gwyn got picked, eh?” He said, twirling me around. I laughed, lightly smacking him. “Put me down, Dom!” I told him. “And besides, I’m amazing enough to get picked, unlike you.” I joked. I turned a bit to see Alice and Lyssa giggling. Lyssa’s curly blonde hair cascaded down her face and her bright blue eyes were shone with amusement. “Aw, come on, guys!” I said in exasperation, smacking Dominic in the arm again. Thankfully, he put me down. Dominic is a Leo, unlike me. But we still get along, if I don’t go and making sassy comebacks when he tries to tease me. “Congratulations anyway, little sister.” He said, patting me on the head. “Ugh, not the hair! And you won’t get to call me little sister once I pass those Winter Solstice trials.” I said, smirking up at him. He laughed and shook his head a bit. The four of us chatted for a while, talking about anything and everything. Dom had to roll his eyes when we started gossiping about our fellow schoolmates. He never could stand the gossips I always partake in. “Come on, I’ll walk you ladies to your dorms before the Horologium rings.” He said, gesturing over to the path towards Stella Via. “Why thank you, Dominic.” Alice said, grabbing hold of his arm and dragging him towards Stella Via. Lyssa and I shared a look, Alice had always fancied Dom since we were kids, but Dominic doesn’t know. We’re waiting for the day he realizes that. Lyssa nudged me on the shoulder, gesturing to the two. “Does Dominic know now or…?” I shook my head, looking at the two with amusement. “Unfortunately, Dom’s unique trait is still there.” I told her as we caught up to them. Lyssa just shook her head with a smile. “Wow, it must be a pain to have a brother with denseness to romance as a unique trait. Especially since Dom is quite attractive.” We giggled to ourselves as Dom continues to get dragged by Alice towards Stella Via. Dominic finally got himself free from Alice and gestured towards the path to the Gemini dorms. “Thanks, brother.” I said as I walked past him. Dominic simply bowed and walked towards the Leo dorms. The three of us walked towards our dorms, happily chatting away and of course, teasing Alice about Dominic. Eventually, we arrived in front of two yellow, gold accented six-floor buildings facing each other. It is decorated with golden statues of twins with the Gemini glyphs. The garden between the dorms are filled with yellow flowers of different kinds and a pale yellow fountain in the middle. The fountain has air symbols carved into it. The three of us had to duck when a Gemenian flew past us. “Watch it!” I exclaimed, getting a “Sorry!” back. We looked at each other and shrugged. Together, we walked towards our dorm room. Only Lyssa and I were roommates and Alice roomed with her cousin. Not much of a problem, we still have the time to socialize in either of our rooms anyway. “See you later, girls~” Alice said as she stepped into her room and a few seconds later, squeals were exchanged between the cousins. I simply chuckled at her excitement and followed Lyssa to our room. I was about to collapse into my comfortable bed when Lyssa dragged in a suitcase and pulled me out of the bed. I scrunched up my face in annoyance, only to earn a laugh from her. “Come on! You need to pack.” She told me, dragging me to my feet. I groaned. “Fiiiine.” I told her and started to grab my clothes from my closet while she got my other necessities. I casually threw a sock at her while her back was turned and when I turned my back, the sock was sent back to me. I grinned at her and threw another sock at her, which soon grew into a sock fight. A few minutes into the fight, Alice and her cousin, Odette, went into the room and was soon dragged into the fight. I enjoyed every moment of it, because this will be the last time we will be together before the trials. ---- Derek Evans P.O.V Our little group exited the auditorium, chatting animatedly. I had my arm around Marianne Reeves, my girlfriend. She had long, wavy black hair and sparkling brown eyes, and she is a Virgo. “Wow, I never knew you had it in you, Evans.” She said with a smirk as she looked up to me. I smirked back and pecked her lips. “Was there ever any doubt?” I asked teasingly, subsequently getting a ball of earth to my face. Sometimes I forget that my girlfriend is an Earth-user. We walked towards Stella Via, but we made a stop at the area where different kinds of animals resided. One big thing Marianne and I have in common is our love of animals. In fact, this is where we first met. A Canis Minor immediately bounded up to Marianne and I as soon as he saw us. Marianne laughed as the Canis tackle-hugged her and started to lick her face. “Wow, you sure are famous with the animals here, eh?” I commented, before being tackled by a Leo Minor. Marianne rolled her eyes as she saw me. “Yeah, only I’m the famous one.” She replied. We always spent our free time here, this is our secret hangout. No one knows about this place except us, as far as I know. More of the animals surrounded us and before we know it, we were completely the center of attention. “You know,” I started as I petted an Apus. Marianne turned to look at me, ready to listen. In her arms was a Lepus, who was enjoying her strokes. “I’ll miss this place. The quietness, the peace…” I trailed off, admiring the beauty of this place. I turned to look at Marianne, who had a sad smile on her face. “Me too… It would become a lot lonelier when you leave.” She said, sadness evident in her voice. I frowned, understanding her sadness. “Rianne. You know, you’re one of the best things that has ever happened to me.” I said, moving to sit closer beside her and wrapping an arm around her. She leaned her head against my shoulder and watched the other animals play around. “The same can be said for me to you, Derek. I- I’m going to miss you a lot.” She mumbled, burying her face into my shoulder. “Me too, Rianne, me too. Maybe we should make this last day worth for the time I’ll be gone?” I asked, looking down at her, waiting for her response. Her head shifted and she turned her eyes at me. She nodded, smiling a sad smile. “That sounds great.” Maybe… Maybe sometimes, the (second) best thing that’s ever happened to you would be the worst thing another has ever experienced. We just stayed in our positions in comfortable silence, the animals continuing to do their usual things around us. A Pavo had settled itself on Marianne’s lap in the place of the Lepus, who climbed up to her shoulders. And then that damned Horologium just had to ring and ruin the moment. Marianne looked up to me and nudged me on the side. “Come on, you need to pack.” She said as she set the Lepus and the Pavo down before standing up. She grabbed my hand and dragged me up. One more thing you need to know about Marianne is unbelievably strong for her petite stature. I obliged and linked my arm in hers, making our way to Stella Via. We walked in silence, just enjoying the moment. Eventually we arrived at the Stella Via, I faced the Cancer path and she faced the Virgo path. “Well, looks like we’ll be parting now.” I said, looking back at her. Marianne simply nodded and turned to look at me, before pulling me down for a kiss. After we pulled away, she told me “Good luck on the trials.” I nodded and replied back, “Yeah, I love you Rianne.” I said as I pulled her into a hug, which she reciprocated. “I love you to, Derek.” And so, we parted ways, I went to the Cancer dorms and she went to the Virgo dorms. I finally arrived at my dorms, the two six-floor buildings standing in all their glory. The buildings were colored silver with green accents and statues of red crabs with the Cancer glyphs decorated the whole place. In between the two buildings was a garden with a silver fountain at the center. The fountain had water symbols carved into it. I quickly went to my dorm room, which was at the 3rd floor. I remembered that I had left my keys in my dorm room so I felt very lucky when I caught up to my roommate, Aaron. “Aaron!” I called out, reaching for his shoulder. His short black ponytail sailed in the air as he turned, a pair of blue eyes peered at me behind a pair of glasses. “What’s the rush, Derek? Oh and congrats on getting chosen, by the way.” I grinned at him. “Thanks, and do you have your keys with you?” Aaron simply rolled his eyes and pulled a keyring from his pocket, the familiar silver key shining in the sunlight. “Geez, you need to remember where you leave your keys, alright?” He told me as we continued our way to our dorm room. The moment he opened the door, I immediately dashed towards my room, quickly grabbing a suitcase and my clothes, packing them all in my suitcase. I gathered every necessity, including a framed photograph of Marianne and me. While I packed, I made a promise to myself to contact my friends and Marianne once the trials begin, and I intend to keep that promise. ---- Malachai Cavalier P.O.V Me and my buddies left the auditorium as I cheered and excitedly chattered with them about my selection. I proudly stated to them about how I was excellent enough to be chosen by our Cepheus. Eh, what can I say? We Leos are a proud species. My twin brother, Melchior, smirked from his place. Melchior, nicknamed Mel, is almost the exact duplicate of me, personality and appearance wise. However, there are a few differences, such as Mel being taller than I am, the childhood scar he has on his leg, and the fact that he is more into the generous side of Leo. He wasn’t that bothered about me being selected as a Zodiac Candidate rather than him, maybe it’s because he’s not really up for a job with so much responsibilities. I mean, sure we Leos have excellent leadership skills but we don’t always want to be the leader, so cut him some slack. We walked with Pietro, our fellow Leonian and the ringleader of our own little squad who had long dark brown hair tied in a ponytail and pale green eyes, Estrelle, our peach haired and bright hazel eyed second-in-command. You ask, how in the world is her hair peach?! My answer: hair dye. Estrelle usually has a unique hair color once every few weeks and only rarely do we see her natural blonde hair. Pietro and Estrelle are also dating, which means Melchior and I can tease them for days on end. And also ruin their feels moments. Fun! Pietro had his arm draped over Estrelle, talking animatedly with Melchior and I. Estrelle was content listening to us while I continued on and on about how awesome and great I am. “Like come on! Not anyone can be chosen by our great Cepheus himself!” I continued. “Oh please, I know I’m waaaay more awesome than you are. Not everyone can be the Leonians’ section representative.” Pietro said, willing to start our daily challenge of “who is more awesome”. Estrellle simply chuckled, saying “Wow, I cannot fathom how I got such an arrogant boyfriend.” Melchior piped in with “Well, Lady Estrelle, arrogance runs in our veins.” Estrelle simply rolled her eyes, leaning her head against Pietro’s shoulder. We continued our way to Stella Via, chatting over the chime of the large Horologium as we entered the Leo path. A Leonian passed by us with a high five as we entered the Leo dorms’ grounds. The dorms are two six-floor orange buildings with gold accents. Golden lion statues with the Leo glyph decorated them. In the middle of the buildings is a garden with a pale orange fountain carved with fire symbols. Estrelle waved us goodbye after she gave Pietro a kiss on the lips, heading for the female Leo dorms. The three of us went to the male Leo dorms, Mel and I stopping at our dorm room at the 3rd floor while Pietro continued on to the 6th floor. After getting in our dorm room, Mel and I started to pack my things, Mel catching the stuff I throw at him from my closet. I wonder how Mel will fare with me being gone for God knows how long. Wait, I don’t need to wonder. Mel and I have been separated once, when our parents divorced when we were 10, leaving me with mom and Mel with dad. Now, they have remarried to different people, but I still have dad’s surname. My life had been a little rocky but maybe this is the big break I’ve been expecting. A little late but whatever. A big break is a big break. Characters, Zodiacs, and POVs Because frankly, I can't keep fucking track of my own story's characters and their traits Note: Antonella Smith isn't Andromeda Antonella Réaltra of Orbinorum. Points to you when you get the references. :D Notable Relations Keeping track of their notable relations too. xP |-|+= |-|Jesse= |-|Antonella= |-|Gwyneira= |-|Derek= |-|Malachai= |-|+=